Nigeria Finalizes National AI Strategy, Seeks Legislative Approval

Nigeria is moving to solidify its position as Africa’s primary artificial intelligence hub by transitioning its National Artificial Intelligence Strategy from a conceptual draft into a formal legislative framework. Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, confirmed that the policy is now finalized following extensive consultations across government, academia, and the private sector. By seeking formal approval from the National Assembly, Nigeria aims to provide the legal certainty and institutional backing required to attract large-scale investment and govern the deployment of autonomous systems within its borders.

This move is a significant milestone for the continent, where AI regulation has largely remained in the advisory stage. Nigeria’s approach is notably infrastructure-heavy, focusing on the creation of high-performance computing (HPC) centers and clean-energy AI clusters. This suggests a recognition that policy alone cannot drive innovation; the physical compute power must be localized to reduce latency and ensure data sovereignty. By integrating energy-efficient AI clusters into the strategy, the government is also addressing the chronic power challenges that have historically hindered the growth of the Nigerian tech sector.

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Nigeria is moving to solidify its position as Africa’s primary artificial intelligence hub by transitioning its National Artificial Intelligence Strategy from a conceptual draft into a formal legislative framework.

A standout technical achievement highlighted in the strategy is the development of a government-backed Large Language Model (LLM). This model is designed to understand and communicate in major local languages, including Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, and Ibibio. In a global AI landscape dominated by Western-centric models, Nigeria’s focus on linguistic diversity is a strategic move toward 'sovereign AI.' This ensures that the digital transformation of the country does not come at the cost of cultural or linguistic erosion, while simultaneously making AI tools more accessible to the non-English speaking population.

The strategy is built upon five foundational pillars: infrastructure, talent, adoption, ethics, and governance. The talent pillar, specifically the creation of Centres of Excellence, aims to stem the 'brain drain' by providing local researchers with the resources needed to compete globally. Meanwhile, the adoption pillar targets high-impact sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, and finance. For instance, AI-driven predictive analytics could revolutionize Nigerian agriculture by optimizing crop yields in the face of climate volatility, while automated public services could significantly reduce bureaucratic friction in the federal government.